Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada should move toward more diplomatic engagement with Iran and Venezuela, as a lack of resources on the ground restricts its ability to help Canadians during crises. He made the comments to reporters in Ottawa on Thursday after back-to-back earthquakes struck west of Caracas, killing at least 164 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
Humanitarian Aid and Diplomatic Gaps
Carney said Canada is moving to provide humanitarian aid and will scale that support as needed. But he acknowledged it’s more difficult to respond without diplomatic representation in Venezuela, as well as in Iran and other countries with regimes it opposes. “Engagement is not endorsement. Having an embassy, having consular services in a country, does not mean we endorse the policies of that country,” Carney said. “It does mean that we have people there that can help Canadians and in human tragedies can provide more immediate on-the-ground systems where we can be helpful.”
“Moving towards that,” he argued, is “what we need to do.” He cautioned he was making a “general point” and a decision hasn’t yet been made about restoring diplomatic ties with the countries. Bloomberg News previously reported that two Canadian officials travelled to Caracas last month in part to examine the embassy building as Canada weighs reopening the site.
Canada’s Closed Missions
Canada closed its mission in Caracas in 2019, when it formally recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader. However, Nicolas Maduro remained president until he was forcibly removed by the United States military in January. His vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was installed as acting president. In the case of Iran, Canada closed its embassy in 2012 after formally designating the country a state sponsor of terrorism. Canada has a large Iranian diaspora, and Carney said the absence of an embassy has created challenges during the war in Iran.
“We’ve had to rely on allies and countries that also aren’t our natural allies to help us, particularly in Iran, to help get Canadians out,” Carney said. “In my opinion, we must change the way we’re doing things.”
